Archive for July, 2017

It seems ridiculous for Mani Shankar Aiyer to claim that the Congress party is the biggest gainer from Pranab Mukherjee leaving the Rashtrapati Bhavan.What is the logic for such a statement and thinking ?He wants the former President to be ‘the Congress’s principal counselor and help guide it back from its present nadir closer to the zenith’-(wistful thinking.)The problem is Aiyar is no more relevant in politics and to survive he is thinking out of his hat. Imagine claiming Pranab Mukherjee’s unbounded wisdom his unbending adherence to constitutional limits etc as useful for the Congress party to get back its right to rule. The Congress does not believe in probity in public life. Throughout its long years in power it had shown scant respect for constitutional institutions. One cannot imagine the former President ‘honored’ by the invitation of Aiyar’s offer to be the honorary counselor of the Congress party,or willing to get back to his party which had no respect for him when he was very much in it.Why did Sonia Gandhi not chose him as the PM instead picked up Manmohan Singh as her choice to be the PM.There are many reasons-one which stands out is that MMSingh will be malleable and a lame duck PM while Pranab Mukherjee will adhere to constitutional limits.He will never allow democratic institutions to be overlooked-as the Congress did when it overrode Parliament and created an NAC .He would never have allowed his PS to carry the files to Sonia Gandhi nor would the PM’s Office be an open corridor for Rahul Gandhi to walk in and dictate terms and spread of the MGREGP.MSI pretends that he does not know why Pranab Mukherjee left the Congress along with Shukla.He could not stand the dictatorial style of functioning of Indira Gandhi. He is a patriot who will not dream of touching the likes of Aiyar who requested Pakistan to come and drive out the Modi government and who cozied with separatist and sipped tea with them. With the Congress having such netas how can Pranab Mukherjee return to a home which is no longer a home for him because he does not recognize or feel comfortable in a home which breeds anti-patriotic people like Aiyer. Pranab Mukherjee has grown out of all petty politics and is above party politics. He was the President of India and left his august position-unsullied to be a leader to be remembered and loved by all. He cannot and will not be a partisan to the Congress’ netas petty politics and become partisan in their outlook. One simple example how the Congress holds him is the fact that in spite of his advice and plea that Parliament should not be disrupted and that it will hurt more the Opposition if Parliament is blocked the Congress MPs the very next day disrupted the Parliament and rushed to the well.

Right from the time of Indira Gandhi and then Rajiv Gandhi the Congress had scant respect for democratic and constitutional institutions (MSI will recollect the ‘shouting brigade’ of which he was a member to shout down the PM and bring down the government on Action taking report.)The Emergence is a permanent blot in the constitutional history of our country-that belongs to Indira Gandhi who thought that Indira is India. Is it to this fascists and treacherous den that Mani Shankar Aiyar invites the former President as home coming and wants him to be the counselor. What disregard and disrespect to the man who was the first citizen of India to be cast among such schemers. Surely Pranab Mukerjee the incisive man that he is, with his ability to read the Congress party and its netas today better than others knows what it stands for. It is no compliment to the former President from Mani Shankar Aiyar to be invited back to the Congress den. My humble request to Aiyar is- do not debase and insult the Office of the President and those who held it.